Mind's Eye
by The Devil Wears Ariadoney
Summary: In which the Fey family power is vastly different, and the world as a whole is not the same.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Mind's Eye

Fandom: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Rating: T

Summary: In which the Fey family power is vastly different, and the world as a whole is not the same.

* * *

I.

* * *

Maya Fey is two years old, and she is visiting the City for the first time.

She does not know what the trip is for, only that she has begged and pleaded to be allowed to come until her mother relented; big sister is going as well, but she's _older _and is expected to go anyway. She's the heir, after all, and Mama the Master has important business to do in the City. Maya doesn't know what this business is, yes, but it _doesn't matter _because she's going to the City she's heard all about from all the adults who say this might as well be a good learning experience for her and her powers.

Maya Fey is only two years old, but she's mastered her powers very much. She can see through all the shimmery and sparkling colors all the adults wear and can make them go away just as easily. She's isn't a _baby. _

The argument is won. The day comes, and little Maya proudly wears her acolyte robes and brushes her hair so that it is extra straight and shiny and can hardly keep from jumping up and down in her excitement, because _she is going to the City._

She can hardly wait to get there.

* * *

Maya Fey is two years old and she is terrified.

She did not expect to see so many people.

She did not expect to see so much… _everything. _

Quiet little Kurain village with all its gentle, muted colors is suddenly _nothing _in the face of this cacophony of colors and shapes; she can't shut them off, can't make them go away. There's too many, too much _power_, and it is all too much for a little girl of two years old to bear.

Her eyes burn; the pain is crippling.

By the time the family reaches their destination she has already melted in to tears, burying her face into Mama's clothes as she tries to shield her watering eyes. Quiet words are exchanged. Big sister leads her to a quiet room devoid of life, and a stranger brings a cool cloth to drape over her face. There Maya stays for the duration of Mama's important business, shivering as big sister strokes her hair and whispers encouragement. Little Maya is grateful to have someone at her side, and she loves her sister all the more for it. With her aching eyes covered and a soothing voice in her ear, she sleeps, drifting from the world into the realm of dreams.

She doesn't wake until hours later, in the arms of her mother as she is carried home.

A pity, say the adults. Her power is not yet strong enough. It is too soon for her to see the world; more training, more concentration is needed. She will not be going to the City again. Not soon.

Maya is upset, but accepts their words with a silent promise to herself. Next time she'll be stronger. Next time she'll have more control.

And so she trains.

Trains as rumors sweep the village in the days following.

Trains as her mother withdraws from the adults, from her children.

Trains as Mama disappears without a word.

Trains as, years later, big sis leaves too, and she is all alone.

Maya trains her mind and body in the big, empty house left all to her, as she is left behind.

After all, there is nothing else left for her.

* * *

Maya Fey is seventeen years old, and she dreams of the City.

She knows she left the village at one point, years ago, but she can't remember much of it; her eyes tingle when she tries, and her mind conjures dancing pillars of color— but nothing else. The last time she went hadn't been good for her, she is told, but it can't have been _that _bad. Anything would be overwhelming to a toddler, and she's practically an adult now.

Besides, she's never been outside the village since. What exactly is the _point _of her training, she complains, if she never has the chance to practice it?

Her elders stop talking about the City at this point, and she hasn't made much progress in the argument since then.

Maya has a few things from the outside world, at least. Television, for one. She watches her favorite show on it, but she also watches the news segment and documentaries that pop up every now and then. She also has a phone, but the phone itself doesn't count for much since it only has one number in it anyway: her big sis's number.

Mia is probably the one true link she has to the outside. She calls at least once a month to check in on her sister, and is more than happy to share any and all of her experiences in the City. Maya drinks up every call with eager abandon, locking herself in her room and bombarding the older Fey with question after question. They'll spend hours talking if they aren't careful, staying up late into the night until one of them is too tired to talk.

If she's especially lucky, Mia Fey will come back to Kurain for a visit… and business. Though it's never stated outright, apparently being a Lawyer is a risky undertaking at time, and more often than not Maya will find herself in possession of evidence, one kind or another, that Mia doesn't feel comfortable keeping in her office. It's a bit thrilling, like a Steel Samurai episode, though at times Maya is a little worried that the bad guys might sneak into Kurain in order to destroy incriminating evidence.

Mia usually laughs at her when she says this, so she doesn't bring up the fact that she worries about her sis, too, especially if she's being driven to secure evidence in such a way.

Then again, Mia Fey is powerful. No way she'd be taken out by a bad guy so easily.

…Quite honestly, Maya lives for those long phone calls and visits. The intensity of the waiting isn't that healthy for her these days; Maya figures she's starting to go a little stir crazy being cooped up at home, but no one will let her just waltz out of the village on her own, even if she is the next Master-In-Training, and she hates them a bit for that. Arguments have been a little more heated these days, too…

…this makes the phone call one early September day all the more welcome.

It's a little out of the blue. Usually Mia calls later in the month, but Maya isn't complaining, not with the way she answers on the first ring and sprints to her room in record time, slamming the door as she goes.

"Hello? This is Maya!" She blurts out all in a rush, winded from the run and anxious to hear Mia's voice again— she isn't disappointed as there is laughter from the speaker.

"_Hey Maya, it's me_," says Mia Fey, and she can hear the smile even through the phone. Maya stifles her gleeful giggles as she slides down to the floor.

"Mia! What's up? You haven't called in a while."

There is a sigh. Big sis sounds somewhat guilty. "_Sorry I haven't called for a bit… it's been busy. How have you been?"_

"Well, lonely, for one… no thanks to you." She lays on the pouting for this, but is quick to bounce back. "Nah, just teasing! I think I've _finally_ gotten used to having the house to myself."

"_Good to hear_," Mia says, accepting the humor, but lapses into a short silence. Gathering her thoughts, Maya realizes. Suddenly this call doesn't appear to be a social one. "_I'm coming up to Kurain later today… I have a favor to ask_."

Maya feels her heart skip a beat. "Let me guess," she says, "You want me to hold evidence, huh?"

The laugh and compliment on her sharp analytical skills are nice, but somewhere along the line Maya feels her heart start pounding like a marathon runner in the middle of a race; that is to say, it wasn't fear she was experiencing, but rather… an impending sense of victory. Sure enough, big sis has a favor to ask… again. The kind that involves evidence, and the hiding thereof. There's a big trial in the making— a gathering storm. It might not be safe, Mia says, keeping the evidence in one place.

She had a meeting until late, and so if Maya didn't mind staying up could she please—

"W-Wait, Sis!"

Mia stops mid-sentence, surprised. Her mind stalls for a split second and Maya stutters, but only briefly— "I'll come! I'll come and get the evidence myself, how's that?"

…and lays out her hopes on the line.

Radio silence falls. Big Sis is quiet— too quiet, for a longer amount of time than Maya likes. She fiddles with her sash, unconsciously wiping down sweaty palms and trying to ignore the sharp ache where she's been sitting on her leg enough for it to fall asleep, and—

"_I—I don't— that's a sudden question, Maya." _The reply comes at last, and she abruptly forgets about her tingling leg.

"Please please _please _say yes," Maya begs, "Look, I'm going nuts in this place! The adults won't let me go outside the village but if _you _say it's okay then they'll _have _to let me go a-and-and think of it as training or something _please—"_

"_Maya, stop." _Mia Fey is calm, but the words are as heavy as an anvil. Maya shuts up. She hears the elder Fey draw a quiet breath on the other end of the line, apparently thinking. Preferably in her favor. There is a short pause. "_…Are you sure that's a good idea, Maya? You haven't exactly completed your training, after all." _

Somehow the annoyance drowns out the anything else.

"Oh, come _on!_" Maya voices her feelings accordingly. "I've done nothing _but _train for… for years! There is literally nothing else to do here!"

"_I thought you liked watching that TV show? That samurai one?"_

"…Okay, I train _and_ watch Steel Samurai, but that's not much better and you know it."

Mia pauses again, and Maya takes this as her cue to defend her case, so to speak.

"Look, I think it's safe to say I've already completed my training," she says in a lower, more persuasive tone. "I've memorized everyone's faces here— _both _versions. I don't even need to think about it anymore. I mean, I'm gonna need to practice with a wider audience at some point, how can I gauge how far along I am if I don't have anything more challenging to take on—"  
"_Objection! You can't claim you've completed your training, but state you have no clue where you stand."_

"Wha—!? Hey, Sis! This isn't a trial!"

…Still, she feels she might have an edge here; Mia had teased her with that objection. Obviously she needs to press this angle further.

"Level of training aside, just… think about it, Mia!" Maya pleads one last time, one last appeal. "I've never left the village. Not once. How am I supposed to train like this…. Live like this?"

Just like that, her throat tightens. Those last words she tacked on for dramatic effect don't feel that off the mark. "I-I want to see the world, is that so wrong? Pretend I'm an apprentice becoming a journeyman. Just— _please _let me come. One trip. That's all I want. I won't even ask again."

"_Maya…" _Big Sis seems at a loss for words. "…_You know, you _have _been to the city before," _she says softly, a hum over the line, "_It, um, didn't turn out well." _

"But… I was like, two, right? Of course it wouldn't turn out well," Maya shoots back, a little uncertain. "I'm… loads stronger now… right? That's counts for something, doesn't it?"

Silence.

More Silence.

Mia Fey thinks.

Maya Fey feels hope slip out of her fingers bit by bit…

"…_o'clock." _

She jumps.

"Wait, what?"

"_Nine o'clock," _Mia repeats, "_That's when my pre-trial meeting gets out. It'll be pretty late. You have my address, right? Catch a cab to my office, there's plenty outside the station. Tell you what, you might as well stay over and make a night out of it, I'm not sending you home at that hour—" _

Maya's triumphant shout and subsequent pumping of fists sends her phone flying away. She so excited that it takes five minutes to properly find it and pick it up again, and when she does Mia is laughing at her but she doesn't care because _Maya Fey is going to the city_.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou—" she chants, running in silly circles around her room while Big Sis is forced to say her name multiple times to get her attention.

"This is the best day _ever!_" the younger Fey bursts out at last, out of breath and wheezing in delight, "I'll pack an overnight bag, this is the _greatest—" _

"_Hey, stop shouting! You're hurting my ears, jeez." _Mia laughs softly. "…_You like burgers, right? We can go out for some city food, you'll like that. And— oh." _She laughs again, more to herself. "_...You can meet my junior partner. He just won his first trial, actually." _

She's a little too wound up to properly care, but the mention tweaks her attention all the same.  
"Oh, yeah! Um… that guy." Uh-oh. She can't remember his name. What was it…? "Er, that guy...Wrong...?"

"_Phoenix Wright, you doofus."_

"I knew that! What kind of guy is he, anyway? You don't talk about him much. Ooh, actually," her voice lowers in a conspiring manner, "_What _is he? Anything cool?

"_Well, where do I start? He's…" _Oddly, Mia sounds… a little reluctant. "…_You _are _up to date on your training, right? Meeting him might be a little, um, overwhelming for you?"_

"Wait, what?" Maya asks a bit bemusedly, "Is he really ugly or something?"

"_No! Definitely not. Phoenix is… he's… well, let's just say he's a bit… dazzling." _

That's all she'll say on the matter. "_But enough on my junior partner," _Big Sis says, changing the subject to more important things, "_The evidence I have, you might like it."_

"Ooh, what is it?"

"_It's… a clock." _

* * *

Hours later, that very same day, a train pulls into a station. The doors open, releasing a small stream of passengers onto the platform.

Maya Fey is one of them.

The station is mostly empty given the time of night, and fairly contained. So are her nerves about this entire trip in general; not bad nerves, mind you, but around halfway to her destination her eyes had begun to sting with long-forgotten memories, and now Maya stands near the station exit, berating herself for freezing momentarily under the enormity of the entire expedition. Briefly she wishes Mia was there, to pick her up, but her insistence over her adulthood had won out that particular battle, which she kind of hated herself for now.

She takes a deep breath. Either way, she'd have to leave the station, which she is going to do. Right now.

Now.

…Now.

…a rowdy crowd of passengers, disembarking from a different train come sweeping up behind. They are loud and a little drunk, and without meaning they jostle Maya along with them, out of the platform and into the beyond…

Into the City.

At that moment her training kicks in, and Maya Fey _sees._

And it is _blinding. _

All at once her eyes are watering, her pulse is racing, panic is setting in at an exponential rate. _There are too many people, too many _things _too much color too much too much too—_

_Remember the training._

_Breath._

_Three._

_Two._

_One. _

She closes her Eyes.

The colors fade. They don't disappear, not entirely— there's too much power for her to focus on it all at once, but the auras are now manageable and best of all— she'd fixed it all by herself. That thought alone makes her almost giddy again, until another crowd of exiting bystanders pushes past her and Maya remembers that she's standing all alone outside the train terminal, at nine o'clock at night.

She hurries to find a cab. Mia must be waiting.

* * *

There are so many things she wants to say to her sister, but most of all she wants to talk about the _people _and everything they are underneath. There are so many— _so many _bloodlines here, dozens more, _hundreds _more than in dinky little Kurain village, and she can't even hope to remember her studies enough to identify them all.

The cabby drops her off on the corner, right outside the office building where Fey &amp; Co. Law Offices is located. Maya tries very hard not to stare too much at his forehead as she pays the fare, because one of her very first lessons was that it was really, really rude to stare past someone's glamour like that, something she'd all but forgotten the moment she stepped foot in the city…

She almost sprints inside— as much as her footwear lets her anyway (okay yeah she's taking the elevator up) and bounces in place as she jabs the button to her sister's floor (whoops some guy wanted her to hold the door… too late, sorry mister).

As the elevator rises she idly wonders what the mysterious junior partner is like, if Mia's cryptic description was anything to go by. Never mind; she'll find out, and the door is opening, yep, there's her sister's office, she's never actually _seen _a law office before, gosh this trip is gonna be _great—_

That's odd. The door is open, but all the lights are out. Didn't Big Sis say she'd be waiting…?

Maya Fey enters the office.

Her world ends.

* * *

It had to be a joke.

"…S-Sis?"

A big, stupid joke Mia was playing on her. She was going to look up and laugh at her any second now, and Maya was going to be _so angry—_

_Oh god, there was blood. So much blood._

"M-Mia, say something… say something _please…" _

But… she'd been so happy.

So excited.

Her first real trip to the city—

"S-Sis_…_!_" _

Maya's emotions coil tightly in her chest, and begin to fester. The air hums. Control is slipping from her grasp quicker than water, and there are footsteps miles away, someone running, a voice shouting—

"_Chief!" _

Somehow she finds the energy to look up, no mean feat considering she's lost the ability to stand properly—

She looks up, and—

_Light._

The vision hits her all at once. She'd stopped focusing on her Eyes the moment she'd stepped into the office, stopping focusing on anything at all except her sister—

Her eyes burn. There's too much light too much fire too much _too much she can't control it can't shut it off_—

"W-Who are you…?"

There _is_ a figure underneath the conflagration she _knows _there is, heard his voice, but _she can't see. _Can't focus. Can't tear her streaming eyes away to save herself, to slam them shut and block out _everything— _

Maya can still see sunspots even as she loses consciousness, and surrenders to the merciful abyss.

* * *

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...Hopefully this turns out the way I'm imagining it...? Anyway, first time in the AA archive, thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Mind's Eye

Fandom: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Rating: T

Summary: In which the Fey family power is vastly different, and the world at a whole is not the same.

* * *

II.

* * *

_Mia will be disappointed in her. _

Maya's eyes twitch under closed lids. She's not sure how much time has passed since she fell into this spell of unconsciousness— the world is coming back, bit by bit, but she find she can't muster the energy to meet it.

_She'd told Mia that her powers were under control, that she could handle the city—_

Tears well in the corners and stream down her face. What she had seen was no nightmare, no mad dream scaring her into reality. Instead of waking up, she had passed out instead, and if that wasn't a tragedy in itself—

Beyond the fragile veneer of sleep she hides behind comes the sound of footsteps. Quiet shuffling, the sounds of a living being moving in the space that is her sister's office, interacting with unknown surroundings— the _klink _of glass. A faint rustle of crumpling paper. The slightest hitch in otherwise even breathing…

And the light. Oh, the _light_, blooming through the velvet darkness in oranges and yellows and golds. She can still see it, even though the sounds are far away, even with her _eyes closed, _and it's this light that finally makes Maya Fey wake up. The eyes remain firmly closed, however, as the searing pain from before surfaces first and foremost in her rational train of thought. Her head is aching, her skin feels hot and stretched, and the whole experience is not unlike this one time she had laid out to sunbathe one hot summer day without putting any sunscreen on prior to doing so…

An old memory also tugs at the corners of her mind, of a trip and pretending to be powerful when she really was not—

_Mia letting her lay down on her lap and stroking her hair as she shivered and cried with a cover over her aching eyes_

Maya needs to wake up. She can't stay like this, no matter how hard she wants to never wake up, to never look on that awful scene ever again, but the soft glow from beyond makes her nervous. Maya can't ever remember losing so much control over her Sight before, even in the most extreme of circumstances…

_ Only this was far beyond extreme_

…And she almost had the sense to feel embarrassed for her utter failure. Though, Maya hadn't expected to still see this… _aura… _even with her eyes closed. How the heck was that even possible…?

Ignoring the stinging, the ghostly aftereffects of imaginary flame, Maya Fey breathes in, once, and out, calming herself enough to focus on her Eyes again, praying that she hasn't somehow blinded them for life, and—

Closes them.

The glow fades. Once again, Maya is in control of herself (how tentative that control is, she doesn't know…) but the lingering curiosity remains. Never before has she met someone so… _bright, _so strong-blooded with whatever lineage flowed in their veins that their true form would _burn _her like it had.

The light may be gone now, but the fact remains that something powerful looms beyond, something that she can never let her concentration waver around, and for the first time, Maya realizes why M— _the adults _were so reluctant to let her visit the city.

…Maya can think as much as she wants, but she still needs to open her eyes. To come face to face with the world.

So she does.

… and regrets it, when the scent of blood makes itself known and her stomach roils in turn. Quick as a flash Maya rolls off the sofa she's been laying on and tries to find a trashcan, something, _anything _she can use to save herself from embarrassment only she _can't _find anything oh god she was gonna be—

It turns out to be a good thing she hadn't eaten since breakfast, as Maya heaves and her stomach flips, but nothing comes out. Still, she huddles on the floor fighting back tears of shame from breaking out and waiting everything to settle again.

…and once again remembers that she is not alone. For there is movement, a dark shape, a quiet exclamation…

…as a man emerges from Mia's office. Yes, it _is _a man, something Maya can actually see now that her Eyes are firmly closed tight against the shining, burning aura he'd given off before, except… (no, she couldn't possibly be seeing _embers. _Those had to be after-images… right?)

Somehow he overlooks Maya entirely, focusing entirely on the sofa where she'd been laid out (how'd she get there, anyway…?) and looking back and forth in panic— but then, she'd up and disappeared on him, huh?

She might not know who this riddle-wrapped stranger is, but she takes a deep breath either way— she's taken a lot of those today— and steps forward, hands clasped tight as she makes known her presence.

* * *

Phoenix Wright has a kind face.

That's one of the few things Maya can manage to think, anyway, since she's still half-expecting to wake up and discover that everything is a nightmare of her own making, not… not this horrible reality. The scent of blood is making her sick and she fidgets and tears at her fingernails the longer she has to stand, and the only thing she can think is _Phoenix Wright has a kind face. _

Maya assumes that this strange man is Mr. Phoenix, anyway. It can't be anyone else— he hadn't really introduced himself, only reassured her that he worked in the office, but… _Mia _promised to introduce her to Fey &amp; Co's sole junior partner. Which meant… this man had to be him? Who else would be here, at the darkened offices late at night?

_Well, the murderer might._

Wild accusations leap to the foreground of her thoughts. Maya squashes them instantly; she'd arrived first, not this stranger, and if anything _she _would be the one to look… suspicious…

_Oh no. Oh no no, he wouldn't be thinking… he couldn't possibly think…? Nah…_

A throat clears itself, and Maya belatedly remembers that a name had been asked for… her name, which she should probably share.

"…Maya," she manages to speak in a tone barely above a whisper, feeling as if she's hearing her voice from someplace far away from here, "Maya Fey."

He seems surprised by this. The faint sound of rustling paper reaches her ears, and his hand is clenching— holding onto something hidden from her view. She folds her hands in front of her, and tries listening to the pounding in her head, the blood rushing sluggishly through her body. A headache might be coming on; she can feel it, like taiko drums in a low, rolling rumble before the switch to a harsher, more bombastic pattern.

The other sole inhabitant in the room seems hesitant to speak, and he clears his throat quietly before asking again, haltingly, apologetically—

"Can… you tell me what happened?"

Oh, god, why would he ask something like that? _Why? _Shouldn't she wait, shouldn't she be telling this to the police instead of a stranger in a blue suit and spiky hair, to someone who can _do _something about the lifeless body in the other room? But somehow Maya answers, choking out what little she knew (remembered) of that first horrible step into an office that had no right to be so dark— (_Sis… Sis!)_

A sob. Presumably-Phoenix changes tactics, the mysterious paper in his hand crinkling again. His voice is still soft, and he asks about safer ground, about who she was to Mia, to his chief. Oh, he didn't know…?

"…I'm her younger sister," she says quietly, far more evenly than what she should be sounding like, and Maya hates herself a little for it.

"You were… visiting? This late at night?"

"Sh-She wanted me to keep some evidence for her…"

"Evidence…?"

The clock. The 'Thinker.' The stupid statue with the stupid shape and kiddy design that her sister had thought she would like, without even knowing that the very same clock would be used to—

"Hey, um…"

_Stupid stupid stupid Mia she knew it was dangerous to keep evidence but she did it anyway why didn't she— _

"—In blood. She wrote it… on the back of this receipt."

Wait, what? Maya blinks, and there's a piece of paper under her nose. Phoenix Wright had finally opened his hand, revealing the thin strip of white paper that looked rather hastily flattened out, crumpled beyond relief and sporting dark letters that looked a little like—

Oh. _Oh. _

"Th-That's my name," Maya chokes, stumbling back on shaky legs away from the bold letters that were much too big and ominous for her now. She feels her eyes widening, her fingers digging into clammy palms slick with sweat. "Wh-Why would she write my name? I don't—"

"H-Hey, calm down," Phoenix Wright tries to say to her, and the receipt vanishes speedily from view, but the damage is done. _Why was her name on the receipt?_ Did… Had Mia tried to tell her something? Had she still been alive when Maya first set foot on the threshold, had she taken her last breath while Maya _panicked _like a little kid and not the adult she'd _said _she was—

"Why would Sis write my name?" Maya repeats, and her voice climbs an octave higher as she feels the hysteria bubble up from below the surface, from where she'd stuffed it all away. She knows what it must look like now— bad. How could she explain it? First on the scene, passing out next to her own sister's body, with her _name _in blood on a scrap of paper…

The pained look on Phoenix Wright's face indicates just how much he's put his foot in it, but in this moment of disorientation Maya reads it as an accusation which is _not true not true I didn't kill _anyone _oh no oh Mia help me please—_

And just like that, her tentative control is slipping away.

Against her will the protective veil is burning, falling into ash as once again her _power _seeps into the air and coils with frightening tension.

She feels the space around them begin to hum_. _She seesasPhoenix Wright takes a rapid step back, as whatever runs in his blood reacts to this change— He can _feel _the change? He's starting to _glow _again, as her Eyes open when they haven't even recovered from whatever it was they had seen a scant few moments before, and she _can't _survive that light again, not now, not in such a fragile state, not while the phantom pain lingers and burns.

Maya Fey is two years old again. And she is afraid.

With a quiet wail she sinks to the floor, pressing her hands tight to her eyes and shutting out as much of the material world as she can. This is like nothing she'd ever trained to deal with, and at this moment she doesn't want to see, or feel, or _think. _She's afraid of what might happen if she does.

She doesn't see, or feel, or think, even when the police arrive.

Not even when they take her away.

* * *

Ironically it's the detention center that ends up helping the most. The ambient energy is cold, flat, emotionless— the perfect atmosphere to calm her frayed nerves. It also serves marvelously well in dousing the last vestiges of the phantom flames behind her Eyes, in cooling the heated blood in her veins, and after only a few hours in county jail Maya Fey is finally thinking clearly again.

The detective wastes no time in taking advantage of this, no matter how unintentionally it is. Still, it's with a certain zombie-like quality that Maya answers what is asked of her—

Yes, she'd gone to her sister's office that night.

Yes, they'd been alone.

No… No, she'd already been dead.

No, she doesn't know why her name was found on the scene.

She didn't kill anyone. Least of all her sister.

It's almost funny. Meditation had been her least favorite activity, but she's reached some kind of Zen mode just by sitting and being interrogated by a scruffy detective with an almost non-existent glamour. Clearly he doesn't use it much except for the barest of cover; his blood must not be very strong. But there are sharp teeth in his mouth when she checks, and the smallest point to his ears, so there's _something, _anyway.

The detective gives up partway through the interrogation, and scratches his head as he leaves. He looks unnerved; she'd been a little too obvious in her scrutiny. But she doesn't feel particularly guilty, not this time, not to the man who'd arrested her and brought her… _here._

Mainly she wants to sleep. She gets a few hours.

The guard wakes her up to tell her she has a visitor.

And that's how Maya finds herself on one side of a glass window, staring at one defense attorney Phoenix Wright.

She knew for sure, this time— he'd introduced himself properly, and she bobs her head while hoping she doesn't look as terrible as she feels. There's still some ugly stuff not quite washed away inside.

However… there is also curiosity. Here, in the cold, impersonal atmosphere of the detention center, Maya finally has a grip on her powers she feels confident in. Her emotions aren't so completely out of whack now, and so she can't help herself.

She stares.

Tilts her head just a little bit one side, then the other. Sure, there's hesitation— still some itching, still a faintly nightmarish quality to the memory of this last horrible night, and Maya can't bring herself to open Them all the way like with the detective, but…

She Squints. She can't help it. It's not the best of manners, to stare so blatantly in the middle of conversation like this (Phoenix seems determined to draw whatever he can about last night out of her) but frankly, Maya's been through enough that she simply doesn't care about protocol or common courtesy, her inhibitions have been lowered enough in the past twenty-four hours to bypass them completely. The elders would scold her for this, if they were here.

_Mia would scold her. Her powers didn't exist for her to abuse them._

Maya Fey stares with heavy Eyelids at Phoenix Wright… the real one. Not man in a blue suit and spiky hair that defied gravity a little _too _much, but the one _underneath. _

The one that shone in undulating ripples of red and gold.

The one that radiated a warmth she could feel even through the thick walls of concrete and glass that separated them.

The one that was, for lack of a better word…

"…_Well, let's just say he's a bit… dazzling."_

"You're doing that _thing _again."

Maya blinks, and her Sight snaps shut, banishing the mesmerizing aura that was Phoenix Wright back into obscurity. Phoenix Wright in question is staring at her, and there's an odd look on his face… a confused look. A suspicious look.

"…Sorry, what?" Maya asks faintly, and this time she has the decency to feel a _little _guilty. The detective was one thing, but her sister's junior partner is actually trying to help her, so she really shouldn't be…

"You were staring like that at the office, too. It's… creeping me out, seriously."

Phoenix runs an agitated hand through his hair, and for a second Maya could swear she sees sparks jumping from the ends of the spiky strands. She follows their path through the air and all the way to the ground, where they fizzle out… but this is a mistake, as when she looks up again Phoenix Wright seems even more stricken, sitting rigid in his chair.

"…Sorry," she sighs instead, dropping her gaze. Okay, now she's admittedly being rude. She'd drop the matter at this point… Except, Phoenix doesn't seem keen to let it go as he draws a sharp breath, eyes flashing in a sudden expression of dawning realization… and a little fear.

(And a little bit of orange, but she's not gonna mention that right now.)

He seems to come to some kind of conclusion on his own. "Oh. Oh, no. Am I…"

Hang on. This isn't the realization she'd expected… all at once, Phoenix Wright seems… ashamed.

"I'm _so sorry_. I'm showing, aren't I?" the lawyer stammers, and just like that he's like an embarrassed school kid getting caught with a comic book behind his spelling worksheets. "I-I haven't slept at all tonight. I'm usually pretty good with stress, I swear, but sometimes I… Oh, no! It was my fault you fainted last night, wasn't it? I am _so sorry, _it was just… I mean, Mia… The chief! The chief was… I-I smelled blood and I must've came in a little strong, I—"

…Okay, this is weird. Maya hadn't expected the slew of apologizes to come bursting out. She's not sure how to deal with this. It wasn't _his _fault, he wasn't the one to lose control, so without really thinking she's making apologies of her own.

"No, No, it wasn't you! I was being rude," Maya says, hastily waving her hands in an attempt to placate, "I-I have a bad habit of staring! Please! I mean, your glamour's perfectly fine right now, it just doesn't really affect me, so please just…"

They both stop speaking. Abruptly. And stare at each other.

"…Did you just say it… doesn't _affect_ you?"Phoenix asks, not a little incredulous.

…Great. Now _she's _embarrassed. Her face feels a couple degrees hotter.

"I… yes." She says. Squeaks, more like it. Phoenix Wright stares a little more, then sits back heavily in his seat. His mouth his hanging open.

"I've never heard of that happening. What _are _you?" he asks— then clamps his mouth shut. "Wow, that was straightforward. You don't have to answer that."

"No, it's fine. I guess I kinda owe you an answer, but…"

Maya Fey shrugs, clasping her hands together in a nervous manner. It's a little weird he doesn't know already, considering his boss was her sister, who is… _was… _had been even stronger than her…

"It's just…" she starts off hesitantly, "I, um, have the Sight. You see, I'm... a sorceress."

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And the second part is up! I was going for meaningful suspense by waiting to say what the twist was until now... hopefully that worked.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed.


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